The Others freed the cassandra sangue to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before—both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him.

Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict.

For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice of a fanatic faction is threatening to bring the battle right to Meg and Simon’s doorstep…

Why did I want to read this book?

Since book 2, I’ve been officially in love with The Others series. When I started Written in Red, I didn’t know how deep I would fall for these characters. And yes, I’ve waited to read book 3 since I finished Murder of Crows.

What worked for me?

This series just keeps getting better and better with each book. I love how the world keeps on building on the foundation that author Anne Bishop laid down in the first book. What I initially thought was some sort of info-dump in the first book has actually turned out to be very helpful if not essential to my deeper understanding of these characters and this world as the story progresses. Now I realize that as a reader, I needed to get that information to truly appreciate the intricacies of relationships, the value of certain things, the weight of certain actions, and the like. It was a really job well done by the author if you ask me.

In this book, the stakes are even higher than ever before, on all fronts. The facilities that have kept the Cassandra sangue or blood prophets imprisoned in the past few decades are being overrun, freeing these girls who see visions of the future and whose threshold for the new and the unknown is quite small that they suffer from too much of everything during most times. And Meg, the Trailblazer, as she is becoming known, has felt that it’s her duty and responsibility to guide these girls and give them a chance to lead normal lives outside of the compounds, like what she has been able to do so far in the Courtyard. The clash between humans and the terra indigene has been gaining ground and intensity that is sure to result in a deadly ending. The humans are beginning to take sides, joining the Humans First and Humans Last Alliance, an organization gearing towards confronting and beating the terra indigene to take hold of the lands of Thasia.

The mystery continues to build both the kind that spans a book and the kind that spans the whole story arc of the series. I loved that each book is clearly a step towards that climactic moment in the series and I’m just enjoying this ride of my life. We continue to see layers and layers in the personalities of all the characters. Meg, in particular, has a really interesting trajectory in this book. One of the things that I realized reading this one is a resonance of what has actually been raised in the first book already, that blood prophets have the potential to be a risk to their very selves. And this particular development is really compelling for me as a fan of the series. On the romance front (what romance front?), I am still enduring the slow-burn of Simon and Meg. And when I say slow burn, I am definitely talking about the slowest slow burn ever known. Lol J Which is not really a bad thing, not in this case, because I do enjoy those glimpses and bursts of emotions between these two. It isn’t the central theme of this book or this series for that matter and as I said in my review of the previous book, I am actually perfectly fine with that. There are more than enough amazing things going on in the book that the dearth of romance is hardly noticeable.

What did not work for me?

Nothing. I’m so excited for Book 4!

My over-all take on it?

This was a book that I felt I didn’t want to end but I want it to at the same time, if that makes any sense whatsoever. It was so good. A great continuation to an already amazing series. I can’t believe the next book is more than a year away. Why? Why?! I love this series. So yes, you guys better be on this train with me. Or else. Lol 🙂

My rating:

Anne Bishop lives in upstate New York where she enjoys gardening, music, and writing dark, romantic stories. She is the author of seventeen novels, including the award-winning Black Jewels Trilogy. Her most recent novel is Murder of Crows, the second book in Anne’s urban fantasy series set in a re-imagined Earth. She is currently working on the third book about the Others. Since you’re reading this, there’s no point in telling you to visit her website at www.annebishop.com.